Wrench.



W. H. J. FITZGERALD.

WRENCH.

MPLIOATION FILED JUNE 12, 1911.

Patented 0ct.3,1911.

INYL'N TOR SWW ATTYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HENRY JOSEPH FITZGERALD, OF BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS.

WRENCH.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY J0- SEPH FITZGERALD, citizen of the United States, residing at Braintree, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certa-in new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wrenches, and the invention consists in an improvement upon the ,wrench patented by John R. Long, of

i Akron, Ohio, June 9, 1908, and numbered 890,146, and further improved and patented Y my improvement.

by him April 26, 1910, No. 955,974.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the Wrench embodying Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2, Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross seetion on line 3 3. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the jaw member with the jaws closed and a sectional view of the connecting yoke.

` Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the spring employed with said parts.

Q At least two inherent defects have been found in the wrench as developed under the forego-ing patents which the present invention seeks to remedy, and these defects ap- 4pear especially in the use or handling of the wrench. The first of these and possibly the more serious is the constant tendency of the sliding jaw or member (Z and the'yoke or keeper c to wedge fast upon each other when the two jaws meet as seen in Fie. 4. This tendency has been so decided that frequently the jaw Z would become so firmly locked that it required much hammering and waste of time to get it released, but with the danger of a recurrence of the trouble the next moment. This was a most serious objection to the wrench, even with persons skilled in its use While the novice was at a great disadvantage and was liable to cast the wrench aside as inoperative. Then, assuming that the parts were released, the next trouble was that they were too loose and the sliding 'jaw and yoke were so free upon the main bar that they were not only liable to slide to wide o en position but to lose mutual control. O course it is to be understood that the practical handling of this wrench has to be learned originally because it operates so differently from other wrenches, and that it is essentially a onehand wrench with a thumb controlled member through which the engaging positionvof Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led June 12, 1911.

Patented Oct. 3, .1911. Serial N o. 632,557.

jaw l is always determined. Such control by the yoke was measurably satisfactory in the original wrench when it involved mere movement of the parts forward jointly to engaging position, but said yoke and jaw were otherwise so entirely free to play back and forth in respect to each other that their freedom was a source of actual inconvenience and worked directly against what may be termed having the wrench in hand. other words experience with this wrench has demonstrated that it is desirable to have the jaw Z and the yoke so united operatively that they can be manipulated together and will stay where they are put when not engaged on an object and yet be free to be easily moved either way by means of the thumb. Such mutual working engagement and incident and kindred touch upon the handle-bar may be said to revolutionize the operation of the Wrench, and gives the user a complete and minute control as comypared with the practical chaos and confusion under the old condition.

Now, referring' specifically to the means by which these improvements are worked out and adverting first to the matter of `wedging the jaws together as above described, it will be seen that the heel or back of'the fixed jaw 2, or the main bar at that point is provided with a shoulder or offset 3 approximately in line with the face of said jaw 2 but far enough out of line with said face to serve as a limiting stop or projection for the yoke at the end of its outward movement. This stop is arranged to come where the yoke has not quite reached the locking position and hence it cannot tie or bind the member d. It follows that when the two jaws do come together face to face as in Fig. 4 the yoke o 1s arrested by said stop and can go no farther. Of course there is no advantage in bringing the jaws face to face and hence the wedging of them together in that position is very objectionable and an obvious defect .in construction. By my improvement this is impossible. The second improvement above referred to as desirable comprises means for holding the jaw l and yoke 0 operatively together upon the handle-bar b. These means in this instance are frictional and comprise a spring s located in a transverse channel 5 within the front edge of yoke c and having its body slightly curvedV so as to bring its ends out into frictional contact with the flat edge surfaces 6 and 7 of the handle-bar Z) and jaw Z respectively7 while the middle of the spring lies in said channel. rIhe said spring is flat and its bearing surfaces at 6 and 7 are comparatively slight but yet they are suiipi cient to give the yoke movement control over jaw cl in both directions, while at the same time both parts will stay where they are released whatever the position of the Wrench in the hand. This is very important because formerly if the wrench was held upright in one direction the said parts would gravitate to one end, and ii' reversed in position they would gravitate to the other end regardless of where they were really wanted. In other words the parts were free individually and Without mutual control. By my improvement the said parts are brought under a unitary control and will rest Where they are left whatever the position of the wrench. They will do this whether yoke c be tight or loose on part d. The same joint movement of parts 0 and d occurs if the thumb engages the part cl, as sometimes occurs. Incidentally under the action of said spring the said parts usually hold a close working position on bar Z) and this promotes locking of the jaws. on an object and, upon the whole, greatly simplifies the action of the wrench.

What I claim is:

l. A wrench comprising a handle member having a lixed jaw and a tapered main bar, a loose jaw having a tapered shank adapted to slidably engage said main bar, a yoke inclosing said loose jaw and main bar, and a spring engaged with the main bar and the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the loose jaw to hold the parts in any adjusted position.

2. A wrench having a main bar with a jaw at its end and tapered on its outer edge toward the said jaw, a slidable jaw mounted on said main bar having a substantially wedge shaped shank on its rear, a yoke inclosing said shank and bar and tapered to engage th-e outer edges of said parts and a spring inserted within one edge of said yoke and bearing at its ends upon said shank and said bar respectively.

3. In wrenches, a main-bar having a tapered shank with a jaw on its end, a Slidable jaw mounted on said main-bar and having a tapered shank, a yoke confining said slidable jaw on said bar having a recess inside extending across both said main-bar and the shank of said slidable jaw and a spring located in said recess and bearing against both said main-bar and said slidable jaw.

4. A wrench consisting of a main-bar with a lined jaw and a shank tapered toward said jaw, a slidable jaw with a reversely tapered shank mounted on said main-bar, a yoke operatively confined over said tapered shanks and said main-bar having a projection on its outer edge adapted to serve as a stop for said yoke and prevent the same from binding on said parts when the said slidable jaw is forced forward to its limit.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY JOSEPH FITZGERALD.

Vitnesses SVEN Gr. HOLLANDER, WALTER II. DRAPER.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

